The Federal Aviation Administration has agreed to spend an extra six months studying the impact of a flight path change that has prompted a flood of noise complaints in Milton this summer.

In a letter sent Monday to state Sen. Brian Joyce, D-Milton, Regional Administrator Amy Corbett said the agency agreed that a 12-month review would give “a more accurate picture” of the impact of a new departure procedure that sends more flights departing from Runway 33 Left over Milton and neighboring towns. Joyce had requested the extended review on behalf of a citizen group that opposes the change.

Milton Selectman Denis Keohane said the extension will give the town more time to give the agency feedback about the change, which was implemented in June after an environmental review concluded that it would have “no significant impact.”

“We felt it was just pushed down our throats and we had to make a rash decision very quickly,” Keohane said. “We wanted more time to think about it.”

The new procedure was designed to allow airplanes to following existing flight paths more closely, but it also has the effect of concentrating air traffic from Runway 33L into a 3-mile-wide corridor that takes it over Milton, Randolph and Canton. In the month after the change was implemented, Milton residents made 327 complaints about airplane noise – almost as many as in the first six months of the year combined.

Sen. Joyce could not be reached for comment Tuesday night, but he said in a statement that the extended review period would allow the agency to monitor the impact of the runway during a time of the year when wind patterns steer more departures over Milton.

“By studying the runway during its peak use the FAA will have a clearer picture of the excessive number of planes being sent over Milton,” he said.

Milton selectmen decided in July to write a letter to the FAA about airplane noise in town rather than appeal the agency’s decision about Runway 33 Left. Keohane said the town is also contending with noise from plans landing on two other runways, 4 Right and 4 Left.

Keohane said he’s begun to meet with neighborhood groups in Dorchester so they can join Milton in raising concerns with the agency.

“We’re beginning to make noise, and they’re beginning to listen,” he said.